At 09:12 AM 1/10/01 -0800, Lindsey Thomas Martin wrote:
I have just begun to learn XMetaL but was under the impression
>that it could be customised so that staff and other contributors
>would be exposed only to an interface very like a normal word-processor.
>Is this not the case or are there are reasons why it would not
>be a suitable tool in Mr Muelver's situation?
We use (and recommend) XMetaL, and it is very configurable, and can be
"very like a normal word-processor" or even (arguably) what a
word-processor *should* be (as opposed to the feature-bloated
word-processors that are the rule...not that I have anything against
features as such: it's just that unstructured editing environments, based
on proprietary formats, set you up for problems down the road, and
generally the more features are used, the worse it gets).
The success of any installation like this, however (and this goes for Adept
as well as XMetaL) is going to depend directly on how well the document
model (DTD) is designed and how well it fits the users' actual
requirements, as well as on how good a job is done with local
customizations. This is always going to be true. The design and maintenance
of the DTDs/schemas will be a central problem in Mr Muelver's case.
Regards,
Wendell Piez
======================================================================
Wendell Piez mailto:[log in to unmask]
Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com
17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635
Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631
Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML
======================================================================